About
I am Vincent Leeuw, a media technologist working in the tech and games industry. This is my blog. You can find my LinkedIn profile here.
In a previous life I was a games journalist, a Lead Content on The Chronicles of Spellborn, a gamification startup founder, and corporate researcher. These days I'm a localization project manager and IT manager at Local Heroes Worldwide working on localizing various indie and AAA video games.
Profiles
Games
Games I've publicly worked on:
Stacklands (2022), localization project manager
Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020), localization project manager
Rayman Mini (2019), localization project manager
Anno 1800 (2019), localization project manager
Tom Clancy's The Division 2 (2019), localization project manager
LEGO DC Super-Villains (2018), localization project manager
The Chronicles of Spellborn (2008), lead content
Curriculum vitae
Present
🟧 IT & content manager / project manager
Local Heroes Worldwide
feb. 2018 - present
Utrecht, Netherlands
ICT & content manager for communications and internal hardware and software solutions. Project manager for game localization projects (consoles / PC / mobile).
2018
🟧 Freelance designer
CX Works
aug. 2013 - jan. 2018
Amersfoort, Netherlands
As most of my work was performed under project-based contracts, I made a personal company called CX Works. Within CX Works I specialised around social media, communication management, branding, UX design and applied game design solutions.
2016
🟧 Creative director / co-founder
Imaging Mind
jan. 2014 - okt. 2016
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Imaging Mind was a community and research initiative aiming to connecting and informing organisations within the visual technology space. I co-founded Imaging Mind and was responsible for all communication, community, marketing, branding and design aspects of the initiatives.
I created and maintained a weekly newsletter informing over 300 participants of the latest (cultural) updates within the visual technology space, touching cameras, printing technologies, social media, visualisation tech, virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality and video games.
For Canon Europe and EyeEm I helped organise two hackathons: HACK THE VISUAL (2015) in London and Photo Hack Day 4 (2015) in Berlin. For both of these hackathons I carried responsibility for branding, communication, social media, location hosting and presentation.
Within Imaging Mind I worked on creating and organising a series of meet-ups for and in cooperation with Canon Europe and The Photographer’s Gallery. For Canon Europe I worked on organising two investor meet-ups, facilitating contacts between investors and start-ups within the visual technology space.
Finally, I worked on designing and creating VR Bootcamp, a two-day hands-on workshop aimed at informing professionals and creatives on the positives, negatives and opportunities of virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality.
🟧 Community team member
Freedomlab Campus
feb. 2016 - jul. 2016
Amsterdam, Netherlands
FreedomLab Campus is de co-working community of the FreedomLab institute of redefinition. For FreedomLab I worked on researching the Campus to document and stimulate opportunities for creating a self-governing community. Next to research, this also involved community management and social media management duties.
2015
🟧 Communications manager
Services Valley
jun. 2013 - jul. 2015
Venlo, Netherlands
Services Valley was an open innovation centre, accelerator and incubator for start-ups within the realm of document information services. At Services Valley I was responsible for internal and external communications. These included digital channels and non-digital channels. I created and maintained a newsletter for stakeholders and start-ups enrolled, rewrote the organisation’s website texts, maintained social media channels, organised start-up events and created several printable products.
Together with design agency Luyfel I refreshed the Services Valley brand, logo and style guide to better serve the organisation. I also worked as a researcher on several internal Océ/Canon projects regarding training, instruction, visual technology and printing.
2014
🟧 Product developer
SETUP
jul. 2013 - dec. 2014
Utrecht, Netherlands
SETUP is a media laboratory focusing on digital culture. For SETUP I was product owner on the GameDenken brainstorming method. This method involved re-framing problems into games in order to methodically decompose the problem and discover solutions for them while creating a fun experience for the attendees.
For GameDenken I created a separate brand, style guide, keynotes, a newsletter and organised a series of meetups. For Cubiss and library De Tweede Verdieping we organised custom brainstorming events.
🟧 Senior game designer / co-founder
Subatomic
nov. 2012 - nov. 2014
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Subatomic is an engagement design studio, creating serious gaming and gamification inspired solutions. I co-founded Subatomic and was responsible for branding, communications, and engagement concepts and applications for clients. I was primarily responsible for the user interface and user experience design of SeatZ Network, a ride-sharing app and network. These concepts utilised game inspired mechanics and dynamics to produce the required results of training and user satisfaction.
For Subatomic I also worked on logo design, created and maintained the style guide and maintained social media channels.
2013
🟧 Senior content writer
Monster Smile Inc.
feb. 2012 - okt. 2013
Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Monster Smile Inc. is a Korean developer of mobile games. For the company’s Monster Cry mobile game I created a game world setting, background information and wrote all of the character names, descriptions and flavour texts for use in the game.
2012
🟧 Senior game designer
Flight 1337
nov. 2011 - okt. 2012
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Flight 1337 was a concept agency working on gamification inspired solutions. At Flight 1337 I was responsible for designing and balancing communication and engagement concepts and applications for clients like Aegon, Prinses Beatrix Spierfonds and AFC Ajax. These concepts utilised game inspired mechanics and dynamics to produce the required results of training, user engagement and user satisfaction. Aegon’s Speel je Toekomst application won a Red Dot Design Award and Grand Prix 2013.
Internally, I also helped put together the Flight 1337 brand and style guide, addressing communication and social media aspects of the company.
🟧 Staff writer
Bashers
feb. 2008 - apr. 2012
Utrecht, Netherlands
In 2008 video game blog Bashers became self-published as it left Small Media Group. I acted as a staff writer writing various texts and articles for the blog. I also worked at producing the Bashers Video and Bashers Podcast formats.
2011
🟧 Content manager
UnitedGames
jan. 2010 - okt. 2011
Wormerveer, Netherlands
UnitedGames was a video game developer and publisher focussing on social games and licensed properties. I started at UnitedGames on their social game Mobstar Legends, acting as an analyst and game designer specifically targeting user engagement and retention.
After this project I acted as a project manager on the titles KLM Open 2010 Game and Bwin Football Predictor: two tie-in games associated with the KLM Open 2010 golf tournament and the football world championships and European football season 2010-2011. As project manager I maintained the milestones and lead the development team on both titles.
The next project was the Volvo Ocean Race Game for the 2011/2012 season. For this game I worked on the game’s user experience design (UX) and created and maintained the in-game textual database for translations to ensure a successful launch at the start of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011/2012 season.
For their licensed property Runes of Magic (2010), I translated and maintained the Dutch community newsletter.
2009
🟧 Lead content
Spellborn NV
mrt. 2007 - jun. 2009
Scheveningen, Netherlands
Spellborn NV was a company developing the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) The Chronicles of Spellborn. Initially I helped out on the project by performing editorial duties on the English in-game texts for two months. During this period I discovered various issues with the quest flow, texts, and consistency of the game world, proposing solutions to get everything in line again.
As the game’s release was delayed, the solutions were agreed upon and I got to work on applying them as a content writer being part of the game design team. As part of the team we overhauled around 80% of the in-game texts and proceeded to clean-up various issues with quests and quest flow. As a content writer I created and maintained an internal wiki to centralise and expand upon content, lore, characters and background information. I also created a visual statistical analysis highlighting crucial game design related issues of player character progression. This analysis allowed us to solve these issues efficiently with a minimum of alterations.
About a year after starting at Spellborn NV, the then current lead content left the company and I was selected to take over lead content responsibilities, fixing and editing the final texts, solving game design issues, adding more content and working with a task force to completely overhaul the starting area of the game. Additionally, I designed and wrote the printed manual for the game explaining controls, game mechanics and game dynamics.
2008
🟧 Content writer
HUB Uitgevers
apr. 2003 - jul. 2008
Haarlem, Netherlands
HUB Uitgevers was a publisher of print magazines and websites. For HUB Uitgevers I wrote various texts and articles for their magazines [N]Gamer, GMR and Xbox Magazine.
All three were print magazines aimed at video game enthusiasts. [N]Gamer was geared towards Nintendo products, GMR towards all available platforms, and Xbox Magazine towards Microsoft’s Xbox products.
🟧 Staff writer
Small Media Group
feb. 2006 - feb. 2008
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Small Media Group was a publisher of a network of Dutch lifestyle blogs. I acted as a staff writer writing various texts and articles for the video game blog Bashers. At Bashers I also worked at producing the Bashers Video and Bashers Podcast formats.
2007
🟧 Content writer
JouwMedia BV
aug. 2006 - feb. 2007
Amsterdam, Netherlands
JouwMedia BV was a publisher of print magazines. For JouwMedia BV I wrote various texts and articles for their magazine Jouw Xbox 360 Magazine.
The magazine was aimed at video game enthusiasts of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video game console.
🟧 Web designer
Leukwerkt Worldwide
feb. 2002 - feb. 2007
Hilversum, Netherlands
Leukwerkt Worldwide was a Dutch advertisement agency servicing clients like Postbank/ING, Peijnenburg, Mora and Plus Supermarkten. In the early years of Leukwerkt Worldwide I designed, created and maintained the website next to helping out on designing the word mark and style guide of the company. The website design was aimed at presenting a direct pitch of the agency towards visitors and were markedly different compared to then current web design trends.
After these initial designs, I designed a new more traditional website which better highlighted the newly built portfolio. All versions of the site were built in HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
2003
🟧 Junior web designer
Planet Internet
mrt. 2001 - jan. 2003
Amersfoort, Netherlands
At the time, Planet Internet was the largest Dutch internet service provider (now wholly merged into KPN). I started out in this position as six month internship at the web development team. My assignment was assessing the accessibility for visually handicapped users on the web portal of Planet Internet.
After finishing the internship, I maintained my position at the web development team focusing on further updating and maintaining the web portal in HTML and CSS. One of my responsibilities was transitioning the web portal’s table-based layout into a modern and easier maintainable CSS layout (also with regards to accessibility). I also helped out with the transition of the web portal to a new style guide and ensuring a smooth experience for all of its users.
Additional projects included creating landing pages and dedicated Flash-based websites for (sponsored) content published through the web portal.
2002
🟧 Content writer
Anticlimax
mei 2002 - dec. 2002
Utrecht, Netherlands
Anticlimax is a publisher and content agency. For Anticlimax I wrote and edited various texts and articles for (n3) Nintendo Magazine and Gamesen.
(n3) Nintendo Magazine was a print publication aimed at video game enthusiasts playing on Nintendo hardware. Gamesen was a general video game website aimed at video game enthusiasts of various platforms.